Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to soft lens structures. More particularly, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to one or more self-adhering lenses and methods to make and use the self-adhering lenses.
Description of the Related Art
Microscopes are an essential part of the modern world. Conventional optical microscopes use one or more lenses to produce a magnified view of small objects; especially of objects too small to be seen by the naked eye. A typical optical microscope may have a magnification factor from about 50 times to about 1000 times. Thus, when an object or portion of an object (i.e., a specimen) is placed under the lens of a microscope, a user can see the specimen as if it were 50 to 1000 times larger.
An optical microscope gathers light from a tiny area of a thin, well-illuminated specimen. A small objective lens focuses light from the illuminated specimen into a tube of the microscope. The objective lens includes a first focal point on the side of the specimen and a second focal point on the side of the microscope tube. Both focal lengths are relatively short. The image at the focal point within the microscope tube is then magnified by a second lens, which may also be called an ocular lens or an eyepiece.
Optical microscopes have a myriad of uses, including health and education. Optical microscopes are a commonly accepted means for diagnosing diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, anemia, sickle cell disease, and many parasitic-borne maladies. They can also be used to screen for cancers, including breast cancer, cervical cancer, and other cancers. Optical microscopes are used in schools to facilitate the teaching of biology and other subjects. Microscopes are present in homes and utilized in hobbies, education, entertainment, and for other reasons.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional optical microscope 10. A frame 12 of the microscope supports the microscope body (i.e., tube) 14 and the microscope stage (i.e., table) 16. A light source 18 is used to condense, direct, or otherwise concentrate light upwards toward the microscope stage 16. In some cases, the light source 18 includes a mirror or lens that gathers ambient light and directs the ambient light such that the light converges on the table 16. In some cases, the light source 18 produces the light that is concentrated on the table 16. The light source 18 focuses the gathered or sourced light into a tiny, bright spot on the specimen in the area where the objective lens is focused.
The microscope 10 of FIG. 1 includes a rotating objective lens assembly 20 with a first objective lens 22a and a second objective lens 22b. Other embodiments have only one objective lens or more than two objective lenses. The first and second objective lenses 22a, 22b of the microscope 10 of FIG. 1 have different optical properties. In the embodiment, the first objective lens is relatively flat and has a low-magnification while the second objective lens is rounder and has a higher magnification. In this way the first lens provides a view of the specimen at one level and the second lens brings the specimen into view at a smaller level. In cases where more than two objective lenses are included in the objective lens assembly 20, increasingly smaller areas of the specimen can be brought into view.
In many cases, each objective lenses of an objective lens assembly 20 will focus the image at the same point within the microscope tube 14. In this way, an ocular lens (i.e., an eyepiece) 24 can be permanently affixed at the end of the microscope body 14. The ocular lens 24 magnifies the image produced by the ocular lens 22a, 22b and focuses the image onto the eye of a user.
Various focusing mechanisms can be used in a conventional microscope. In the microscope 10 of FIG. 1, a coarse focus knob 26 engages a first geared-travel mechanism (not shown) to move the microscope body 14 up and down. A fine focus knob 28 engages a second travel mechanism (not shown) to move the microscope table 16 up and down. Other focusing mechanisms are available in conventional microscopes.
Despite the importance of their applications, and the benefits they provide, conventional microscopes face many limitations. Conventional optical microscopes can be bulky and cumbersome, expensive, and comprised of many fragile components. Most conventional microscopes are not capable of capturing and transmitting images and videos without the addition of external equipment.